From famous writers to pioneering engineers, we’ve rounded up all of the blue plaques in commemoration to famous people in Greenwich and where they lived.

Greenwich has a longstanding history for being the home of some of Britain’s most well-known figures, from royalty to writers and leading astronomers.

But did you know how many blue plaques there currently are in Greenwich?

We’ve rounded up all the blue plaques you can find in Greenwich and a little about the people they commemorate:

Charles Gounod (1818-1893)

Charles Gounod, born in 1818, was a French composer famous for his work in opera.

Gounod was a skilled pianist achieving his first success when his most famous opera Faust was performed in Paris in 1959.

The Paris-born composer lived in London for several years, initially residing at number 15 Morden Road in Blackheath.

The blue plaque was erected in 1961 with an inscription reading: “Charles Gounod 1818-1893 composer stayed here in 1870.”

Address: 15 Morden Road, Blackheath, London, SE3 0AA

William Lindley (1808-1900) and Sir William Heerlein Lindley (1853-1917)

Father and son William Lindley and Sir William Heerlein Lindley were distinguished engineers, known for their work in designing water supplies and drainage systems within urban settings.

Between the 1840s and World War I, the pair were responsible for the supply, drainage and sewage systems in over 60 cities including Prague, Sydney, Vienna and Budapest.

William Lindley was also a pioneer of sand filtration, which helped to eliminate cholera from the western world and later became the standard for water purification.

A blue plaque erected in 2015 outside their former Shooters Hill 18th century home reads: “WILLIAM LINDLEY, 1808-1900, Sir WILLIAM HEERLEIN, LINDLEY, 1853-1917, Civil Engineers, lived here.”

Address: 74 Shooters Hill, Blackheath, London, SE19 2UG

Italo Svevo (1861-1928)

Ettore Schmitz, otherwise known as Italo Svevo, was a modernist writer most famous for his novel Confession of Zeno, published in 1923.

Svevo lived at 67 Charlton Church Lane between 1903 and 1913 and returned to the house regularly after World War I.

The blue plaque in commemoration of him was erected on the house close to The Valley, home of Charlton FC, in 1996, with an inscription reading “SVEVO 1861-1928 Writer lived here 1903-1913.”

Address: 67 Charlton Church Lane, Charlton, London, SE7 7AB

William Henry Barlow (1812-1902)

William Henry Barlow, born in 1812, was a civil engineer well known for his work on the train shed roof at St Pancras Station, which was the largest in the world at the time of construction.

Barlow was also responsible for the construction of a new Tay Bridge which set new standards for civil engineering in the 19th century.

In 1881, a blue plaque was erected at number 145 Charlton Road reading “WILLIAM HENRY BARLOW 1812-1902 Engineer lived and died here".

Address: 145 Charlton Road, Charlton, London, SE7 7EZ

Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-1972)

Born in 1984, Cecil Day-Lewis was a poet who lived in a house in Crooms Hill from 1957 until 1972.

Day-Lewis was one of Britain’s leading poets in the 1930s, publishing his Transitional Poem in 1929 and was closely associated with fellow poet WH Auden.

Later in 1952, he published his verse translation of Virgil’s Aeneid, which was commissioned by the BBC.

A blue plaque was erected in 1998 with an inscription reading: “C. DAY-LEWIS 1904-1972 Poet Laureate lived here 1957-1972.”

Address: 6 Crooms Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8HL

Sir Frank Dyson (1868-1939)

Born in 1868, Sir Frank Dyson was a well-known astronomer with links to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

After an education at Cambridge University, Dyson took up a position at the Royal Observatory in 1894 as chief assistant.

When William Christie retired in 1910, Dyson returned to Greenwich as the ninth Astronomer Royal.

He became interested in solar eclipses, organising a number of expeditions and developing eclipse spectroscopy. He was knighted in 1915.

In 1919 Dyson returned to Greenwich, following some time spent in Scotland, to take up the position as the ninth Astronomer Royal.

An inscription on a blue plaque erected in 1990 outside his former home in Vanbrugh Hill reads: “SIR FRANK DYSON 1868-1939 Astronomer Royal lived here 1894-1906.“

Address: 6 Vanbrugh Hill, Blackheath, London, SE3 7UF

Sir Arthur Eddington OM (1882-1944)

Sir Arthur Eddington OM was known as one of the most prominent astrophysicists of his time, and was one of the first physicists to understand the early ideas of relativity, along with Albert Einstein.

Eddington also conducted research into fusion theory, and later in 1919 organised a solar eclipse expedition to Brazil to photograph the stars in the neighbourhood of the eclipsed sun.

A blue plaque was erected in commemoration of his work in 1974 with a plaque reading: “SIR ARTHUR EDDINGTON O.M. 1882-1944 Mathematician and Astrophysicist lived here.”

Address: 4 Bennett Park, Blackheath, London, SE3 9RB

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Hawthorne was an American writer, born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, who wrote a number of works including Young Goodman Brown in 1835 and Twice-Told Tales The Scarlet Letter in 1850.

His writings later went on to inspire Herman Melville, who dedicated Moby-Dick to Hawthorne, along with Henry James and William Faulkner.

In 1953, a blue plaque was erected to the writer with an inscription reading: “NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE 1804-1864 AMERICAN AUTHOR STAYED HERE IN 1856.“

Address: 4 Pond Road, Blackheath, London, SE3 9JL

Richard Jefferies (1848-1887)

Richard Jefferies was a naturalist and writer, who lived in Footscray Road in Eltham.

Born in 1848, Jefferies was a Victorian nature writer, who had a passion for the English countryside that inspired his writing so much.

Jefferies wrote a diverse range of genres, including children’s classic Bevis in 1882, and After London in 1885, which was considered an early work of science fiction.

Jefferies suffered through much of his adult life with tuberculosis, and in 1886 he died at the young age of 38.

A blue plaque was erected in 1968 outside his former home in Eltham with an inscription reading: “RICHARD JEFFERIES 1848-1887 Naturalist and Writer lived here.”

Address: 59 Footscray Road, Eltham, London, SE29

Donald McGill (1875-1962)

Donald McGill was a cartoonist and illustrator who made a name for himself illustrating raunchy postcards associated with the seaside.

The postcards typically featured men and women of all ages and he was later known as the “king of saucy postcards".

A plaque was erected in 1877 outside his former Blackheath home with an inscription reading: “DONALD McGILL 1875-1962 Postcard Cartoonist lived here.”

Address: 5 Bennett Park, Blackheath, London, SE3 9RA

Herbert Morrison (1888-1965)

Born in 1888, Morrison was a British Labour statesman who played a vital role in leading London local government during World War II.

He had a number of political roles during his lifetime, including his role as Mayor of Hackney in 1919, and was later elected to the London County Council for East Woolwich in 1922.

A blue plaque was erected in 1977 commemorating Morrison with the inscription: “HERBERT MORRISON Lord Morrison of Lambeth 1888-1965 Cabinet Minister and Leader of the London County Council lived here 1929-1960.”

Address: 55 Archery Road, Eltham, London, SE9 1HF

Phillip Stanhope (1694-1774)

Born in 1694, Stanhope was a salesman and author known for his works Letters to His Son and Letters to His Godson - guides to manners, the art of pleasing, and the art of worldly success.

A blue plaque was erected in 1937 outside the Rangers House with the inscription: “PHILIP 4th EARL OF CHESTERFIELD (1694-1773) STATESMAN AND AUTHOR Lived here.”

Address: Rangers House, Chesterfield Walk, Greenwich, London, SE10 8QX

Garnet Wolseley (1833-1913)

Garnet Wolseley was a former army officer during the Victorian period, embarking on campaigns to parts of Egypt, South Africa and Sudan.

In 1890, Wolseley was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Ireland and later promoted to field marshal in 1894.

Wolseley was also a published author, writing a number of books including The Soldier's Pocket Book in 1869.

A blue plaque was erected in 1937 outside the Ranger’s House with an inscription reading: “GARNET 1st VISCOUNT WOLSELEY (1833-1913) FIELD-MARSHAL Lived here.”

Address: Ranger's House, Chesterfield Walk, Blackheath, London, SE10 8QX

Benjamin Waugh (1839-1908)

Born in 1839, Benjamin Waugh was a social reformer and founder of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in 1884.

Waugh began his career working as a congregationalist minister in the slums of Greenwich.

During this time Waugh was appalled at the deprivations and cruelties suffered by children, and later went on to represent Greenwich on the London School Board from 1870 to 1876.

A blue plaque was erected at 1984 with an inscription reading: “BENJAMIN WAUGH 1839-1908 Founder of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children lived here.”

Address: 26 Croom's Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8ER

General James Wolfe (1727-1759)

Born in 1727, General James Wolfe was a high ranking army officer known for his victory over the French at Quebec in 1759, resulting in the unification of Canada and the American colonies under the British Crown.

Upon his death in 1769 the general was seen as a heroic martyr, with people commemorating his life through paintings and prints.

A blue plaque was erected in 1909 with “JAMES WOLFE 1727-1759 Victor of Quebec lived here.”

Address: Macartney House, Greenwich Park, London, SE10 8HJ